Narayan Babu on Building AI, Truecaller, Glance & Scaling to 100M+ Users! | iPhone | Siri |KPH | #42

നാരായൺ ബാബുവിന്റെ 30 വർഷത്തെ ടെക് ജീവിതാനുഭവങ്ങളുടെ വിശദമായ അഭിമുഖം. ആൻഡ്രോയിഡ് ആപ്പുകളുടെ വികസനം, ഫ്രൈഡേ എന്ന ആപ്പ്, ടെക് രംഗത്തെ വിജയങ്ങളും പരാജയങ്ങളും, ഗൂഗിളുമായുള്ള ബന്ധം, സീറ്റ എന്ന കമ്പനിയിലേക്കുള്ള മാറ്റം, ജീവിതത്തിലെ ലക്ഷ്യങ്ങള് എന്നിവയെല്ലാം ഉള്ക്കൊള്ളുന്നതാണ് ഈ അഭിമുഖം. കേരളത്തിലെ പ്രോഡക്ട്-ബേസ്ഡ് കമ്പനികളുടെ വളർച്ചയും ചർച്ച ചെയ്യുന്നു. The podcast highlights the growth of product-based companies in Kerala, many of which are actively hiring. Mosalor, a sponsor of the podcast, is showcased as a successful example, having achieved millions in annual recurring revenue without significant funding rounds, demonstrating the potential of Kerala's tech scene. Exceet, Narayan's company, was a pioneer in the Android community in India, achieving significant recognition. Their product was featured as an Editor's Pick in the Google Play Store for four consecutive years, highlighting their early success and innovation in the Android app market during its nascent stages in India.Exceet's Android application gained immense popularity, achieving millions of downloads within a short period. The company's rapid growth is evidenced by the overwhelming response from Google, with numerous emails and mentions in tech publications, showcasing the impact of their product on the market.Exceet's app quickly reached one million downloads within the first 15 days, demonstrating rapid market penetration. The segment highlights the speed of adoption and the app's ability to handle millions of daily queries, showcasing the scale of its success.Exceet's app, launched three years prior, offered functionalities surpassing Siri's capabilities, including memory retention for natural language interactions. This segment contrasts the app's advanced features with the limitations of other chat applications and explains the unique approach to data storage and query answering. The speaker recounts how, despite receiving substantial investment offers (around $2 million) from Sequoia and Qualcomm, they chose to accept only a smaller amount, driven by an idealistic, yet ultimately misguided, belief in their company's self-sufficiency and aversion to scaling beyond their initial team of 15. This decision highlights a crucial lesson in balancing ideology with pragmatic business growth. The initial product launch faced numerous rejections, but a few US media outlets showed interest, highlighting its unique voice-based features and its success in the US market where 3G and Jio were not yet prevalent. This positive media coverage led to further interest and write-ups, boosting the product's visibility and attracting attention within the Android developer community.The app ran in the phone's background 24/7, requiring significant optimization for battery life and resource management. The developers closely collaborated with Google, submitting their work and becoming initial beta testers and part of the close community, leading to the product being featured in the Google Play Store's Editors' Pick for four years.Despite lacking funding, the product was launched, addressing concerns about server costs. The product was a technologically impressive showcase of voice-based phone interaction in 2011, a unique feature that differentiated it from competitors, even if it lacked a clear business model initially.The app quickly built a community of half a million active users who considered it their most-used product. The developers, lacking funding and marketing budget, observed the superior design of iOS apps compared to Android. The beautiful design of the Path app inspired them to improve their own app's aesthetics.The developers' first app was among the first 2000 apps on the Google Play Store, highlighting their early entry into the Android market. They created a Pac-Man-like game using the accelerometer, which gained some popularity. While they were eligible for a phone reward for reaching 10,000 downloads, their location in India prevented them from receiving the prize. Despite a strong community, the app wasn't scaling.Recognizing the weakness in their initial app's design, the developers focused on creating a visually appealing app, aiming for an iOS-like aesthetic. They launched a new app, "Dial," which used intelligent recommendations based on the Friday engine, utilizing calendar data, call history, and location to suggest contacts. They also integrated life mapping features, similar to Google Maps' Trails feature.Their strategy for scaling involved leveraging Google Play Store's Editors' Pick feature to gain visibility and downloads. The company maintained a small, yet highly skilled team, aiming to keep the size under 20 people, prioritizing quality over scale. They moved their office to a more cost-effective location.The launch of Apple's Siri spurred the developers to create a similar product in just 24 hours as a challenge. They aimed to replicate Siri's functionality while adding memory capabilities, allowing the app to answer questions based on the user's data, a feature lacking in Siri at the time.Creating Iris required a knowledge engine, which Siri relied on external sources like Wolfram Alpha. Lacking such resources, they initially used a simple web scraping technique from MIT's website to answer knowledge-based questions. This was a temporary solution, not intended for a long-term product.The developers shared Iris on Twitter, attracting the attention of a TechCrunch editor. The resulting article, titled "Android's Answer to Siri: Iris," went viral, leading to a massive surge in downloads and social media engagement within 24 hours. The article even included a direct download link for the APK.The unexpected viral success of Iris led to over a million downloads in the first 15 days, with daily queries exceeding a million. The developers leveraged cloud credits from Microsoft's startup program to manage the increased server load. The unexpected success highlighted the importance of being opportunistic and capitalizing on unexpected opportunities.The rapid growth and viral success of Iris, though unexpected, taught the developers valuable lessons about opportunism and the importance of maintaining a balance between emotional attachment to a project and the need for realistic business strategies. The unexpected success was initially overwhelming, but it also highlighted the power of word-of-mouth marketing and the importance of adapting to unexpected circumstances.Following the viral success, the developers collaborated with the TechCrunch editor to publish Iris on the Google Play Store, achieving rapid growth. They used AWS credits and resources efficiently, and their architecture was even featured in an AWS white paper. Despite the initial success, they maintained a long-term vision for Friday, their core technology.The reliance on MIT's website for Iris's knowledge engine caused problems, leading to website overload and eventual collaboration with other knowledge providers. Despite the massive success, the developers remained grounded, emphasizing their long-term vision for Friday and the importance of maintaining a balanced perspective on success.The experience with Iris taught them the importance of maintaining a balance between emotional attachment and business realities. They learned to be more opportunistic and capitalize on unexpected opportunities. They also learned about the power of word-of-mouth marketing and the importance of adapting to unexpected circumstances. The developers' story highlights the journey of a small team from initial rejections to unexpected viral success. Narayan's early exposure to computers and programming, influenced by his father's involvement in the development of the Safir supercomputer, shaped his career path. He began publishing software as early as sixth and seventh grade, showcasing his early aptitude and passion for technology.Narayan's early programming experiences involved creating desktop software and games, highlighting the early days of software development and the individual's role in building entire products. This segment contrasts the solo development approach of the past with modern collaborative development methodologies.Despite being an average student, Narayan's passion for computers persisted, influenced by his family's involvement in open-source technologies and his strong admiration for Microsoft and Bill Gates. This segment highlights the personal drivers behind his career choices and his early exposure to different tech environments.While at KMEC College, Narayan's interest in software development rekindled, leading him to work at Bosch. His experience at Bosch, involving outdated systems, spurred the idea of building a better system, leading to the discovery of Android in its beta stage.The team's early work with Android, while it was still in beta, led to recognition and popularity. However, this segment also highlights the challenges faced, including difficulties in registering as an Indian developer on the Android Market (later Google Play Store), requiring creative solutions.To overcome the geographical restrictions for Android developer registration, Narayan used a UK-based account and a friend's credit card. This anecdote illustrates the resourcefulness needed to navigate early market limitations and their subsequent success in becoming early Android pioneers in India.The team participated in a contest offering a $100,000 prize for the best Android app. This segment details the team's formation, including a non-technical co-founder brought in to handle business aspects, and their initial brainstorming sessions.The team's initial idea involved creating an app that automatically captured life events and answered questions using natural language. This segment contrasts their ambitious vision with the technological constraints of the time, highlighting the limitations of their hardware compared to the capabilities of even basic mobile phones.The development process proved more complex than anticipated, leading to delays and ultimately missing the contest deadline. Despite not winning, the experience provided valuable lessons about project management and realistic expectations.The team reflects on their experience, acknowledging the complexity of their initial project and the need for a simpler approach. This segment also provides context on the nascent Kerala startup ecosystem in 2010, with limited resources and funding opportunities.Securing funding proved challenging due to the novelty of their product and the lack of understanding from investors. This segment highlights the difficulties of pitching a cutting-edge idea to investors who were not familiar with the potential of natural language processing and mobile technology.The team received support from Technopark's innovation center, obtaining office space in exchange for a fee. This segment showcases the role of incubators in supporting early-stage startups and the importance of mentorship from experienced individuals.The team's interactions with investors often involved unrealistic expectations and skepticism. This segment highlights the challenges of convincing investors of the potential of their product and the common misconceptions about the technical expertise required. The speaker describes the acquisition process, highlighting the unanimous team decision to join Quicksee, a US company, driven by the opportunity for personal and professional growth in a larger market. This section reflects on the experience, acknowledging previous mistakes and emphasizing the crucial role of understanding all aspects of a business beyond product development. This segment details the company's near-acquisition by larger firms like Quicksee (an Alibaba subsidiary), illustrating the consequences of lacking a clear business strategy. Despite receiving multiple offers, their inability to envision a scalable business model resulted in a missed opportunity for significant growth and ultimately led to their acquisition by another company. The speaker presents their vision for a new form of internet access tailored to the Indian mobile-first context. This segment focuses on the utilization of the lock screen as a platform for delivering information and services, bypassing the need for app installations or web browsing, and describing the significant reach achieved through this approach, highlighting a successful strategy for reaching a large audience.This segment details the challenges of providing fresh, personalized content on a phone's lock screen without disrupting the user's immediate needs, such as making a call. The speaker explains the use of an intelligent caching method to ensure quick content delivery without compromising user experience.The presenter discusses the complexities of caching content for lock screen displays, highlighting the need to balance efficient content delivery with limitations on data storage and usage to avoid consuming excessive user data. The sheer volume of daily lock screen accesses (3 billion glances) and the resulting content delivery challenges are explained.This section focuses on the challenges of ensuring appropriate content on the lock screen, considering varying user identities (e.g., a child accessing a parent's phone) and the need for positive and engaging content to maintain a positive user experience. Content guidelines emphasizing positivity and avoiding controversial topics are described.The speaker presents Glances as a platform for various apps and services, emphasizing the importance of personalized content based on user choices. The goal is to transform the lock screen into a customizable interface where users control what they see, rather than a space for overwhelming notifications.This segment describes the speaker's shift from creating content for Glances to building it as a platform. The speaker's dissatisfaction with the previous model, where users passively swiped through content, is discussed, leading to a desire for a more meaningful and impactful approach.The speaker's decision to leave Glances and join Sequent, a company building a core banking platform, is detailed. The decision was driven by a desire for a personal challenge in a completely different industry, using unfamiliar technologies and working with a new team.This section introduces Sequent and its mission to build a modern banking platform. The speaker shares their positive experience with the company's founders and their approach to problem-solving. The speaker's role in running product and engineering for the US market is also highlighted.The speaker uses the analogy of airlines and their reliance on Boeing and Airbus for aircraft to illustrate the unique position of Sequent in the banking industry. Only a few companies build the core banking platforms, highlighting Sequent's crucial role.This segment explains Sequent's vision of building a modern banking platform, contrasting it with the outdated technology used by many established banks. The significant investment and long-term commitment required for such an undertaking are also discussed.The speaker draws a parallel between Elon Musk's investment in Tesla and Sequent's founders' commitment to building their core banking platform. The substantial investment and the long development time are explained.The speaker introduces the concept of "first principles thinking," contrasting it with relying on conventional wisdom or existing industry practices. The importance of questioning assumptions and building from fundamental principles is emphasized.This section illustrates how Sequent applies first principles thinking to banking, challenging established practices and building a modern platform without legacy constraints. The advantages and disadvantages of this approach are discussed.The speaker further elaborates on the benefits and drawbacks of using first principles thinking in building a banking platform. While it allows for innovation, it also risks overlooking some aspects of established practices.The speaker highlights Sequent's modern technology stack, free from the limitations of legacy systems. The initial expectation of a long development time is discussed.This segment reframes the understanding of banking, not as a technological problem, but as a promise of safeguarding customer funds. The role of government regulation and guarantees in maintaining trust is highlighted.The speaker emphasizes risk management as the central aspect of banking, contrasting it with the "move fast and break things" approach of consumer tech companies. The importance of regulatory compliance is stressed.The speaker discusses the need to build dependable and risk-averse software for the banking industry, requiring a different approach than that used in consumer tech.The speaker contrasts the rapid iteration and customer-driven testing approach of companies like Truecaller and Glances with the more cautious and rigorous approach required in banking. This segment discusses the speaker's subsequent involvement with TrueCaller, focusing on the challenges of integrating the Indian team's work style with the European company's culture. The speaker highlights the friction between the fast-paced, results-oriented approach of the Indian team and the more balanced, structured approach of the European company. The speaker analyzes the unique characteristics of internet usage in India, particularly in rural areas, where mobile phones are the primary access point. This section emphasizes the need for tech companies to adapt their strategies to the specific context of the Indian market, where physical stores often act as intermediaries for online transactions. The speaker discusses a personal project focused on creating a new music notation format, inspired by Markdown, for easier sharing and software decoding of musical notes, particularly addressing the nuances of Indian classical music which are not as well documented as Western music. This includes research on quantizing music, a challenging task due to the complexities of Indian musical styles. The segment also touches upon the changing landscape of software development and the impact of AI.This segment analyzes the impact of AI and technological advancements on the software development landscape, particularly focusing on the opportunities for individual developers. The speaker reflects on three technological revolutions in their lifetime, highlighting how each created opportunities for individual developers to build and sell software, leading to the creation of successful companies.The speaker emphasizes the increasing difficulty of app market penetration, highlighting the importance of design and customer focus in building successful products. They contrast the challenges faced by large companies with the advantages of smaller teams that can prioritize customer needs and attention to detail, using the example of Apple's early iPod design.This segment delves into the speaker's belief that design and customer centricity will become the defining factors for success in the future. They illustrate this with the example of the iPod's added speaker, a seemingly small detail driven by a deep understanding of customer experience. The discussion then shifts to how seemingly insignificant factors can have a major impact, using the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study.The speaker compares the work culture in Europe, characterized by a strong work-life balance and high-quality output in limited hours, with the more intense, driven work ethic often found in India. This difference is attributed to historical and societal factors, impacting productivity and approach to work.This segment explores the deep-seated cultural influences on work habits, tracing them back to generations past. The speaker contrasts the resource scarcity experienced by previous generations with the current abundance, arguing that this historical context shapes the relentless drive and ambition observed in many Indian professionals.The speaker contrasts the strict work-hour regulations in Sweden with the often intense work culture in India. They discuss the cultural differences in work ethic and the implications for productivity and well-being, highlighting the impact of historical context and societal norms on work habits.The speaker shares their personal experiences working at Truecaller and Glance, two companies with contrasting approaches to data privacy and user experience. This part highlights the evolution of their perspective on ethical considerations and the importance of data privacy in business practices.This segment focuses on Truecaller's unique approach to data, viewing it as a liability rather than an asset. The speaker explains the company's commitment to user privacy and the extensive measures taken to protect data, even going to great lengths to avoid storing user information.The speaker contrasts Truecaller's strict data privacy policies with Glance's design philosophy, which prioritizes user experience and avoids intrusive advertising. This segment highlights the different ethical considerations and business models employed by these companies.The speaker discusses Glance's fundamental tenet of never placing ads on the lock screen, emphasizing the importance of user experience and the avoidance of intrusive advertising. This segment highlights the company's commitment to a user-centric design philosophy.The speaker recounts the development of their voice-to-text technology in 2010, comparing it to current advancements in AI. This segment focuses on the limitations of existing technology at the time and the innovative approaches they used to overcome them.This segment details the technical challenges faced in developing their early voice-to-text technology. The speaker explains the limitations of neural networks at the time and the innovative hybrid approach they adopted, combining rule engines and natural language processing.The speaker explains the specific implementation of their natural language processing system, detailing how sentences were broken down into verbs, nouns, and other components, and how these were used to route requests to appropriate services.The speaker concludes by highlighting the thriving ecosystem of product-based companies in Kerala, emphasizing the community-driven approach to hiring and the success stories of companies like Moziloor. This segment provides a positive outlook on the future of technology development in the region. The speaker discusses the potential for India to leverage AI and large language models, suggesting a focus on building applications rather than competing in the development of foundational models.The speaker compares India's potential for cost-effective innovation with that of the US, referencing examples like SpaceX and ISRO. The speaker expresses uncertainty about their motivation to pursue this path.The speaker advocates for building products that leverage existing technologies like large language models, using the example of Cursor, which built a product using a small team.The speaker emphasizes the success of small teams in building innovative products, highlighting the importance of applying existing technologies in unique and unexpected ways.This segment shares the speaker's personal approach to technology, emphasizing early adoption and exploration of less popular tools.The speaker details their use of various coding tools and their passion for building physical projects, including a Raspberry Pi-based pet feeder.The speaker discusses the advantages of having access to resources like 3D printers and readily available components for building projects.This segment describes the speaker's involvement with OpenPilot, an open-source self-driving car kit, and its evolution from a personal project to a community-driven initiative.The speaker details their contributions to OpenPilot, focusing on adapting the software for Indian road conditions and using it in their own vehicles.The speaker describes the level of autonomous driving capabilities they have achieved using OpenPilot, highlighting its usefulness for long highway drives. This segment presents a contrarian perspective on wealth, arguing that it can be a significant obstacle to achieving meaningful goals. The speaker advocates for keeping money in motion, investing it rather than hoarding it, and shares his personal goal of becoming broke in 2024 to maintain his drive and focus.This segment further elaborates on the speaker's perspective on wealth, contrasting the traditional Indian mentality of saving money with the entrepreneurial approach of constantly reinvesting it. He supports his viewpoint with observations on successful entrepreneurs and emphasizes the importance of keeping money dynamic to avoid stagnation.The speaker shares a personal anecdote about a period of financial hardship during the early days of his company. This experience shaped his perspective on money, highlighting that it is a tool to access resources rather than an end in itself. The discussion provides valuable context to his views on wealth and its role in life.This segment discusses the speaker's introverted nature and how it influenced his approach to wealth and contributing to society. He reflects on the challenges of connecting with others and finding ways to make a meaningful impact, despite his personality. The discussion adds a personal dimension to his perspective on wealth and its relation to purpose.This segment focuses on health, both physical and mental. The speaker shares his approach to maintaining physical health, emphasizing the importance of routine and budgeting, and offers a unique perspective on mental health, suggesting that discomfort and a lack of comfort are essential for growth and achieving meaningful goals.This segment explores the interplay between the speaker's three life goals, particularly focusing on how he balances them and stays motivated. He emphasizes the importance of routine, planning, and delaying gratification to achieve long-term objectives. The discussion provides valuable insights into maintaining a healthy lifestyle and achieving ambitious goals.The speaker shares his personal journey of physical transformation, highlighting the importance of setting clear goals and creating a routine to achieve them. He emphasizes the role of discomfort and pushing boundaries in achieving significant results. The segment provides a personal and relatable example of goal-setting and achieving significant change.This segment explores the speaker's contrarian viewpoint on happiness, suggesting that it can hinder growth and achievement. He argues that discomfort and pushing oneself beyond comfort zones are essential for personal and professional development. The discussion offers a unique perspective on motivation and the pursuit of ambitious goals.The speaker challenges the conventional notion of motivation, suggesting that it is often an illusion. He argues that consistent action and focus on meaningful tasks are more important than relying on external sources of motivation. The segment offers a pragmatic and realistic approach to maintaining drive and achieving goals. This segment introduces a personal metric for success: avoiding misery. The speaker contrasts this with the Type A personality, always ready to act, and explains their own tendency towards procrastination, a Type B trait. This sets the stage for a discussion of overcoming this inherent personality type. This segment analyzes the cyclical nature of political leadership, comparing it to engineering principles. It argues that extreme approaches, whether in politics or product development, eventually lead to a backlash, resulting in an oscillation between extremes until a middle ground is reached. The speaker uses the examples of Trump's presidency and previous governmental approaches to illustrate this concept.The speaker discusses the challenges of over-engineering in software development, emphasizing the importance of validating a product's core functionality before adding complex features. He explains the concept of "technical debt," where building a minimally viable product initially allows for faster iteration and validation, postponing complex development until it is truly needed.This segment contrasts the short-term problem-solving approach with the need for considering second-order effects. Using the example of current political decisions, the speaker highlights the danger of focusing solely on immediate solutions without fully understanding the long-term consequences, especially in interconnected global systems. The discussion emphasizes the importance of considering broader impacts.The speaker shares his personal framework for setting and achieving life goals, focusing on three core areas: living longer, staying happy, and making a meaningful contribution to the world. He emphasizes the importance of measuring the effectiveness of actions toward these goals and eliminating unproductive activities, illustrating this with examples from his personal life.This segment delves deeper into the speaker's three core life goals, explaining how he uses them to filter out less important activities. He discusses the importance of regularly evaluating actions against these goals, using a quarterly review process to track progress and identify areas for improvement. This process helps to reduce "noise" in his life and maintain focus on what truly matters.The speaker details his systematic approach to achieving his life goals, emphasizing the importance of continuous evaluation and adjustment. He describes how he sets quarterly goals aligned with his broader life objectives and uses this process to stay motivated and focused, even if it seems mechanical. The discussion highlights the value of consistent effort and self-reflection.The speaker reflects on his early entrepreneurial experiences, highlighting the role of "ignorance" as a driving force in his initial success. He contrasts this with the later challenges of having some knowledge, which led to fear and procrastination. The segment emphasizes the importance of clear vision and overcoming fear of failure to achieve ambitious goals.This segment explores the speaker's journey toward clarity in his goals and the sustained drive to achieve them. He contrasts his earlier approach, characterized by fear and procrastination, with his current focus on building something enjoyable and meaningful. The discussion emphasizes the importance of a clear vision and passion to maintain long-term motivation.The speaker discusses his evolving approach to entrepreneurship, emphasizing the importance of strategic planning and focusing on significant problems. He shares his vision for building a more meaningful and enjoyable startup, highlighting the shift from a purely results-driven approach to one that prioritizes impact and personal fulfillment. The speaker reveals a simple yet effective hack: doing the opposite of what their mind suggests. This counter-intuitive approach challenges the natural inclination to avoid tasks, transforming procrastination into a self-imposed challenge. The effectiveness of this method is highlighted.This segment provides a practical example of the "opposite" hack, illustrating how it works in a real-life scenario of public speaking. By actively choosing to speak despite feeling hesitant, the speaker demonstrates the practical application of the technique and its impact on overcoming fear and inertia.The speaker explains their approach to risk assessment, weighing the potential negative consequences against the opportunities gained. The "opposite" hack is presented as a way to bypass this often paralyzing analysis, leading to consistent action and a shift in mindset.The speaker discusses the profound and lasting effects of consistently applying the "opposite" hack over several years. This segment emphasizes the transformative power of the method and its role in maintaining motivation and health. The speaker also introduces a new philosophy: "more machine, less human."This segment delves into the speaker's "more machine, less human" philosophy, explaining its origins in a preference for predictable machines over unpredictable humans. The speaker describes the challenges of human interaction and their initial avoidance of it due to its perceived complexity and unpredictability.The speaker reflects on their past strategy of minimizing human interaction as "playing the game in easy mode." The segment details their growth in managing large teams, necessitating the development of interpersonal skills and learning to navigate human dynamics from first principles.This segment focuses on the speaker's journey towards understanding and appreciating human interaction. They discuss the benefits of actively engaging with people and solving their problems, highlighting a shift in perspective and a newfound ability to decode human relationships.The speaker emphasizes the importance of trust and conscious interaction in relationships. They describe their approach to interactions, aiming to be the best version of themselves and prioritizing listening. This segment highlights the conscious effort to improve interactions and minimize anxiety.This segment illustrates how the speaker handles unexpected emotional situations and negative interactions. The speaker's approach emphasizes maintaining a default state of trust and understanding, even when faced with negativity, and viewing such situations as opportunities for growth.The speaker introduces "Open Source Thinking," a project aimed at documenting their approach to life scenarios and making it available to others. This segment explains the project's goal of creating a predictable and open system of personal decision-making, allowing for community contribution and improvement.This segment elaborates on the "Open Source Thinking" project, describing it as an algorithm for handling various life scenarios. The speaker envisions a collaborative approach where others can contribute and refine this algorithm, ultimately leading to personal growth and improved decision-making.This segment details the practical applications of Open Source Thinking, emphasizing its potential to help individuals prepare for interactions and understand the speaker's reactions. The use of an Obsidian workbook to document scenarios and reactions is also discussed.The speaker discusses their process of refining reactions to different scenarios, using a playback method to identify ideal responses. The goal is to minimize the influence of the "lizard brain" (fight-or-flight response) and make decisions consciously.This segment provides a summary of Open Source Thinking, highlighting its key elements and the speaker's overall philosophy. The project is presented as a personal dream, aimed at improving decision-making and personal growth through a collaborative and transparent approach.This segment describes the speaker's farm project, undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project represents an attempt to reconnect with fundamental human needs and skills, and the speaker's decision to forgo a refund on Starlink booking demonstrates their commitment to long-term goals.This segment discusses the speaker's decision to retain a Tesla booking despite uncertainty about its fulfillment, illustrating a willingness to embrace the unknown and pursue long-term goals. This complements the previous segment, reinforcing the theme of commitment to personal projects.This segment describes the construction of a cottage in a remote forest location, emphasizing the development of practical life skills and the experimental nature of the project. The speaker's focus on learning and self-sufficiency is highlighted.This segment shifts focus to the speaker's approach to homeschooling their children, emphasizing transparency and honesty in their teaching methods. The speaker's commitment to providing age-appropriate information and avoiding easy lies is highlighted.This segment continues the discussion on homeschooling, emphasizing the importance of truthfulness and age-appropriate education. The speaker's commitment to providing accurate information, even if difficult, is contrasted with the temptation to provide simpler, potentially misleading answers.This segment illustrates the speaker's approach to decision-making by questioning conventional wisdom. The example of choosing different schools for their children challenges the common practice of sending siblings to the same school, highlighting the importance of individual needs and challenging assumptions.This segment continues the discussion on school choice, emphasizing the prioritization of individual needs over parental convenience. The speaker's decision to send their children to different schools, despite the added inconvenience, demonstrates their commitment to individual growth and development.This segment discusses the speaker's deliberate and research-intensive approach to decision-making. The speaker acknowledges that this process is slower but emphasizes the value of thorough investigation and understanding before making important decisions.This segment highlights the influence of the book "The Timeless Way of Building" on the speaker's thinking. The book, about architecture, provides insights into craftsmanship and the human element often overlooked in software engineering, challenging the focus on pure optimization and efficiency. This segment emphasizes the importance of craftsmanship and customer focus in product development, highlighting a book recommendation ("Thinking in Systems") that explores these concepts and their impact on building successful products. The speaker mentions the book's value in changing one's perspective and its layered approach to understanding systems.This segment delves into "Thinking in Systems" by Donella Meadows, explaining its core concept of understanding interconnectedness within systems. The speaker uses the example of deforestation to illustrate how focusing on individual elements (trees) without considering their relationships within the ecosystem leads to unintended consequences and the importance of a holistic, systems-thinking approach. This segment focuses on the thriving product-based company scene in Kerala, highlighting opportunities for employment and showcasing a sponsor, Mozilor, a successful company in the region with open positions. This section provides practical information and connects the discussion to real-world opportunities. This segment applies systems thinking to market research and product development, highlighting how neglecting the interconnectedness of factors can lead to flawed decisions. The speaker contrasts a single-element focus with a systems approach, demonstrating how considering the impact on existing products and users leads to more informed choices. The speaker again recommends "Thinking in Systems" as a valuable resource. നാരായൺ ബാബുവിന്റെ 30 വർഷത്തെ ടെക് ഇൻഡസ്ട്രി അനുഭവം, വിവിധ ബിസിനസ്സുകളും നിരവധി ഇൻവെസ്റ്റ്മെന്റുകളും ഉൾപ്പെടെ. ആൻഡ്രോയിഡ് ആപ്പുകളുടെ വികസനത്തിലും പ്ലേ സ്റ്റോറിലെ വിജയത്തിലും പ്രധാന പങ്കുവഹിച്ച Exceet എന്ന കമ്പനിയെക്കുറിച്ച്. ഫ്രൈഡേ എന്ന ആപ്പ് വികസിപ്പിച്ചെടുത്തതിനെക്കുറിച്ചും അതിന്റെ പ്രത്യേകതകളായ മെമ്മറി ഫീച്ചറുകളെയും നാച്ചുറൽ ലാംഗ്വേജ് ഇന്ററാക്ഷനെയും കുറിച്ച്. ആൻഡ്രോയിഡ് പ്ലേ സ്റ്റോറിൽ ഫ്രൈഡേയുടെ വേഗത്തിലുള്ള വിജയവും ഒരു മില്യൺ ഡൗൺലോഡുകളും ദശലക്ഷക്കണക്കിന് ക്വറികളും കൈകാര്യം ചെയ്തതിനെക്കുറിച്ച്. ഫണ്ടിംഗ് ലഭിക്കാതെ വന്നതും മീഡിയയിലൂടെ ലഭിച്ച അപ്രതീക്ഷിതമായ പബ്ലിസിറ്റിയും കമ്പനിയുടെ വളർച്ചയിലെ പ്രധാന വഴിത്തിരിവായി. ഐറിസ് എന്ന പേരിൽ സിറിയുടെ മത്സരമായി വികസിപ്പിച്ചെടുത്ത ആപ്പിനെക്കുറിച്ച്. ടെക് റഞ്ച് പോലുള്ള മീഡിയകളിൽ നിന്ന് ലഭിച്ച പോസിറ്റീവ് പബ്ലിസിറ്റിയും അതിന്റെ ഫലമായി ഉണ്ടായ വലിയ അളവിലുള്ള ഡൗൺലോഡുകളും. Exceet കമ്പനി വിൽപ്പനയെക്കുറിച്ചും അതിനുശേഷമുള്ള ഗ്ലാൻസ് എന്ന പ്രോജക്റ്റിലേക്കുള്ള മാറ്റത്തെക്കുറിച്ചും. ഗ്ലാൻസിന്റെ ലോക്ക് സ്ക്രീൻ ഫോക്കസ്ഡ് അപ്രോച്ച്, കൂടുതൽ കൺസ്യൂമർ ഫ്രണ്ട്ലി ആയിരുന്നു എന്ന്. ട്രൂ കോളറിലെ ജോലിയെക്കുറിച്ചും അവിടെയുള്ള വർക്ക് കൾച്ചറിനെക്കുറിച്ചും. സീറ്റ് എന്ന കമ്പനിയുമായുള്ള ബന്ധത്തെക്കുറിച്ചും അവിടെയുള്ള ഫസ്റ്റ് പ്രിൻസിപ്പിൾ തിങ്കിംഗിനെക്കുറിച്ചും. ഫസ്റ്റ് പ്രിൻസിപ്പിൾ തിങ്കിംഗിന്റെ പ്രയോജനങ്ങളും പരിമിതികളും. ലൈഫിലെ മൂന്ന് പ്രധാന ലക്ഷ്യങ്ങളായ ദീർഘായുസ്സ്, സന്തോഷം, ലോകത്തിൽ മാറ്റം വരുത്തൽ എന്നിവയെക്കുറിച്ച്. മോട്ടിവേഷൻ, ഹെൽത്ത്, റിലേഷൻഷിപ്പുകൾ എന്നിവയെ സന്തുലിതമായി കൈകാര്യം ചെയ്യുന്നതിനുള്ള തന്ത്രങ്ങളെക്കുറിച്ച്. ഓപ്പൺ സോഴ്സ് തിങ്കിംഗ് എന്ന ആശയത്തെക്കുറിച്ചും അതിന്റെ പ്രാധാന്യത്തെക്കുറിച്ചും. ഫാമിനെക്കുറിച്ചും കുട്ടികളുടെ വിദ്യാഭ്യാസത്തെക്കുറിച്ചുമുള്ള അഭിപ്രായങ്ങൾ. "ടൈംലെസ്സ് വേ ഓഫ് ബിൽഡിംഗ്" എന്ന പുസ്തകത്തെയും "തിങ്കിങ് ഇൻ സിസ്റ്റംസ്" എന്ന പുസ്തകത്തെയും കുറിച്ചുള്ള ശുപാർശകൾ. ഇന്ത്യയിലെ ടെക് ഇൻഡസ്ട്രിയുടെ ഭാവി സാധ്യതകളെക്കുറിച്ചുള്ള നിഗമനങ്ങൾ. added some timestamp here നാരായണ് ബാബുവിന്റെ 30 വര്ഷത്തെ ടെക് ജര്ണിയില് നിന്ന് നമുക്ക് എന്ത് പ്രധാന പാഠങ്ങള് ഉള്ക്കൊള്ളാം? ഫ്രൈഡേ എന്ന ആപ്പ് ഒരു മില്യണ് ഡൗണ്ലോഡുകള് കൈവരിച്ചതിന് പിന്നിലെ വിജയരഹസ്യം എന്തായിരുന്നു? ഇന്ത്യയിലെ ടെക് ഇന്ഡസ്ട്രിയില് വലിയ മാറ്റങ്ങള് ഉണ്ടാക്കാന് സാധ്യതയുള്ള ഭാവിയിലെ പ്രവണതകള് എന്തൊക്കെയാണ്? ഗ്ലാൻസ് പോലുള്ള ലോക്ക് സ്ക്രീന് ആപ്ലിക്കേഷനുകള് ഉപയോഗിച്ച് ഇന്റര്നെറ്റ് ഉപയോഗത്തിന്റെ ഭാവി എങ്ങനെയായിരിക്കും? നാരായണ് ബാബുവിന്റെ ജീവിതത്തിലെ മൂന്ന് പ്രധാന ലക്ഷ്യങ്ങള് എന്തൊക്കെയാണ്, അവ എങ്ങനെ സന്തുലിതമാക്കുന്നു? നാരായൺ ബാബു കഴിഞ്ഞ 30 വർഷമായി ടെക് മേഖലയിൽ പ്രവർത്തിക്കുന്നു. വിവിധ വലുപ്പത്തിലും വ്യവസായങ്ങളിലുമുള്ള വ്യത്യസ്ത ബിസിനസുകൾ അദ്ദേഹം നടത്തിയിട്ടുണ്ട്. ട്രൂ കോളറിലെ ആദ്യത്തെ ഇന്ത്യൻ എംപ്ലോയിയായിരുന്നു. ഈവൻ സീറ്റ എന്ന കമ്പനി നടത്തുന്നുണ്ട്. വിസി ബാക്ക്ഡ് ആയും എഞ്ചൽ ഇൻവെസ്റ്റിംഗിലും അദ്ദേഹം പ്രവർത്തിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്. കമ്മ്യൂണിറ്റിയിലുള്ള എൻട്രി ഹിസാമിന്റെ കമ്പനിയിലും പ്രീ മാജിക് അനൂപ് കമ്പനിയിലും ഒക്കെ നിക്ഷേപകനാണ്. അദ്ദേഹം ചോദ്യം ചെയ്യലിന്റെ പ്രാധാന്യം എടുത്തു പറയുന്നു, ഒരു ഉൽപ്പന്നം എന്തിന് നിർമ്മിച്ചു എന്ന് വിശദീകരിക്കാൻ കഴിയണം. കേരളത്തിൽ നിരവധി മലയാളികൾ പ്രോഡക്റ്റ് ബേസ്ഡ് കമ്പനികൾ നടത്തുന്നുണ്ടെന്നും അതിൽ പലരും കമ്മ്യൂണിറ്റി അംഗങ്ങളാണെന്നും അദ്ദേഹം സൂചിപ്പിക്കുന്നു. കമ്പനിയുടെ വളർച്ചയുടെ ഘട്ടങ്ങളിൽ (അഡ്വലസൻസ്) ഉണ്ടാകുന്ന മാറ്റങ്ങളെക്കുറിച്ചും അദ്ദേഹം സംസാരിക്കുന്നു. ആവശ്യമായ മുൻകരുതലുകൾ: പ്രോഗ്രാമിംഗ് അടിസ്ഥാനങ്ങൾ, പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് യൂണിക്സ് സിസ്റ്റങ്ങളിലുള്ള അനുഭവം. പ്രോഡക്റ്റ് മാനേജ്മെന്റിലും ഡിസൈനിലും അടിസ്ഥാന ധാരണ. ഇംഗ്ലീഷ് ഭാഷയിലുള്ള നല്ല പിടി. പഠന ക്രമം: പ്രോഗ്രാമിംഗ് അടിസ്ഥാനങ്ങൾ: C, C++, Java, Python എന്നിവയിലെ അടിസ്ഥാന പരിജ്ഞാനം നേടുക. യൂണിക്സ്/ലിനക്സ് സിസ്റ്റങ്ങളുമായി പരിചയപ്പെടുക. പ്രോഡക്റ്റ് മാനേജ്മെന്റ്: പ്രോഡക്റ്റ് ലൈഫ് സൈക്കിൾ, മാർക്കറ്റ് റിസർച്ച്, ഉപയോക്തൃ അനുഭവം (UX) ഡിസൈൻ എന്നിവ പഠിക്കുക. ഡിസൈൻ പ്രിൻസിപ്പിൾസ്: ഗുഡ് ഡിസൈൻ പ്രിൻസിപ്പിൾസ്, UX/UI ഡിസൈൻ, ആപ്പ് ഡെവലപ്മെന്റ് എന്നിവയിൽ പരിശീലനം നേടുക. ആൻഡ്രോയിഡ് ഡെവലപ്മെന്റ്: ആൻഡ്രോയിഡ് സ്റ്റുഡിയോ ഉപയോഗിച്ച് ആപ്പ് ഡെവലപ്മെന്റ് പഠിക്കുക. പ്ലേ സ്റ്റോറിലേക്ക് ആപ്പുകൾ അപ്ലോഡ് ചെയ്യുന്നതിനുള്ള നടപടിക്രമങ്ങൾ പഠിക്കുക. ബിസിനസ് മോഡലുകൾ: വിവിധ ബിസിനസ് മോഡലുകളെക്കുറിച്ച് പഠിക്കുക, പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് സ്റ്റാർട്ടപ്പുകൾക്കുള്ള മോഡലുകൾ. ഫണ്ടിംഗ്, ഇൻവെസ്റ്റ്മെന്റ് എന്നിവയെക്കുറിച്ച് പഠിക്കുക. കമ്മ്യൂണിക്കേഷൻ & ടീം വർക്ക്: ഫലപ്രദമായ കമ്മ്യൂണിക്കേഷൻ, ടീം വർക്ക്, മെന്റോർഷിപ്പ് എന്നിവയിൽ പരിശീലനം നേടുക. പ്രാക്ടീസ് നിർദ്ദേശങ്ങൾ: ചെറിയ പ്രോജക്ടുകൾ ചെയ്യുക: നിങ്ങളുടെ പഠനത്തിനിടയിൽ, നിങ്ങൾ പഠിക്കുന്ന കോൺസെപ്റ്റുകൾ പ്രയോഗിക്കുന്നതിന് ചെറിയ പ്രോജക്ടുകൾ ചെയ്യുക. ഓൺലൈൻ കോഴ്സുകൾ എടുക്കുക: Coursera, Udemy, Udacity തുടങ്ങിയ പ്ലാറ്റ്ഫോമുകളിൽ നിന്ന് ഓൺലൈൻ കോഴ്സുകൾ എടുക്കുക. ഹാക്കത്തോണുകളിൽ പങ്കെടുക്കുക: ഹാക്കത്തോണുകൾ പങ്കെടുത്ത് നിങ്ങളുടെ കഴിവുകൾ പരീക്ഷിക്കുക. ഒരു പോർട്ട്ഫോളിയോ സൃഷ്ടിക്കുക: നിങ്ങളുടെ പ്രോജക്ടുകളും കഴിവുകളും പ്രദർശിപ്പിക്കുന്ന ഒരു പോർട്ട്ഫോളിയോ സൃഷ്ടിക്കുക. കമ്മ്യൂണിറ്റിയിൽ പങ്കെടുക്കുക: സ്റ്റാർട്ടപ്പ് കമ്മ്യൂണിറ്റികളിലും ഫോറങ്ങളിലും പങ്കെടുക്കുക. മെന്റോർമാരെ കണ്ടെത്തുക: നിങ്ങളുടെ മേഖലയിലെ അനുഭവജ്ഞാനമുള്ളവരിൽ നിന്ന് മാർഗനിർദേശം തേടുക. ഈ ടെക്സ്റ്റ് ആപ്പ് ഡെവലപ്പർ ആകാൻ ആവശ്യമായ കാര്യങ്ങൾ വിശദീകരിക്കുന്നു. ആവശ്യമായ കഴിവുകൾ: പ്രോഗ്രാമിംഗ് (C, C++, Java, Python), യൂണിക്സ് സിസ്റ്റങ്ങൾ, പ്രോഡക്ട് മാനേജ്മെന്റ്, ഡിസൈൻ, ഇംഗ്ലീഷ്. പഠന ഘട്ടങ്ങൾ: പ്രോഗ്രാമിംഗ് അടിസ്ഥാനങ്ങൾ, യൂണിക്സ്/ലിനക്സ്, പ്രോഡക്ട് മാനേജ്മെന്റ്, ഡിസൈൻ പ്രിൻസിപ്പിൾസ്, ആൻഡ്രോയിഡ് ഡെവലപ്മെന്റ്, ബിസിനസ് മോഡലുകൾ, കമ്മ്യൂണിക്കേഷൻ. പ്രാക്ടീസ്: ചെറിയ പ്രോജക്ടുകൾ, ഓൺലൈൻ കോഴ്സുകൾ, ഹാക്കത്തോണുകൾ, പോർട്ട്ഫോളിയോ നിർമ്മാണം, കമ്മ്യൂണിറ്റിയിൽ പങ്കാളിത്തം, മെന്റോർഷിപ്പ്. സംഗ്രഹത്തിൽ, ആപ്പ് ഡെവലപ്പർ ആകാൻ ടെക്നിക്കൽ, ഡിസൈൻ, ബിസിനസ്സ്, കമ്മ്യൂണിക്കേഷൻ കഴിവുകൾ ആവശ്യമാണ്. പ്രാക്ടീസും കമ്മ്യൂണിറ്റി പങ്കാളിത്തവും പ്രധാനമാണ്. adding notes here added screenshot